X-DREAMERS [IC - BASE]

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The group has dispersed quite quickly following the information briefing, and Fushi becomes keenly aware of two things: one, that he had only basic knowledge towards what had happened that entire meeting, and two, that he now did not know where to go.

Where did he belong? That was never a question to ask an immortal, for the answer would always be -- to the earth, to the skies, and maybe something in between; but nonetheless the nameless one became aware of the disappearing fractions of people by his side, and he pauses to himself.

His friend -- friend? Yes, his first friend -- the large, metallic creature, had wandered off in the chaos of many moving heads. Fushi thinks that perhaps only someone as absentminded -- or maybe as confused -- as him could lose track of literally what was a large silver beast, but there was no use hoping for the impossible, now. He has to decide where to go, find a place among the ambles of shambling others before --

Don't leave me behind again!

With that thought in mind, Fushi gazes around. His glance is slow and confused, his eyes blinking in rhythm with the marching footsteps. From the corner of his eye, the immortal sees a girl -- with red hair and a spring in her step, with all the powers of something his instincts tell him should not belong on this earth along her side, and he thinks --

Perhaps she would not mind company? Her tone of voice is friendly, her face young, and she reminds him so painfully of a girl with a bow across her back and her braid weaving in the wind that he has to pause, because he does not understand the sudden emotions piling up in his chest, like a ball stacking on layers and layers of heavy, sticky plastic.

He follows the girl and the small purple dragon with curiosity, blinking at the grandness of the halls of the gathering place. He jumps in surprise when the girl suddenly flails, and the small dragon reacts accordingly -- an attack?

But it is not so, and Fushi holds back. They have not noticed him yet, and he isn't sure he wants them to -- he isn't sure what he wants out of this encounter, other than the fact the overwhelming urge to not be alone again is too strong to ignore against any logical reason. He picks up one of the small tacks that the girl had slipped on, gazes at the item curiously, and shrugs to himself. He holds the little object in his hand, tracing the edges and the make of the material with his fingers, and before he knows it he is faced with double doors as the girl opens the entrance to a magical place.

He has seen these items before, he thinks -- perhaps in his memories, or perhaps in the shared memories of other people -- but he is unfamiliar with their context. Back in the winter, the Boy had drawn to him on the walls, written messages with his dying blood. March had taught him to speak, just barely, using a stick and the mud and mother nature as her guide. In the face of such scholarly works, Fushi feels ... small.

It is an unusual feeling. Uncaring now if they sight him -- for surely he cannot hide forever, and he does not want to -- Fushi steps up and to one of the books, scanning the item. There is a strange font on the cover, and Fushi feels ... he does not know how to react to this mysterious item, and so he does the thing that he is most used to -- he picks up the book and opens his mouth.

"No!"

A cry surprises him into jumping backwards, book still in his hands, and Fushi looks down to see the little purple dragon staring at him, eyes furious.

"No, no, absolutely not," the dragon continued, holding out an awfully small hand. "Please do not damage the books!"

Fushi cannot fully understand what the dragon is saying, but he thinks perhaps it has something to do with his actions -- but the immortal is not good at thinking under pressure, and cannot figure out what it is the little dragon might be so against that he is doing. His gaze flickers nervously between the dragon and the girl, and Fushi puts the corner of the book in his mouth. The little dragon squeals in resistance, and Fushi backs up quickly, surprised once more -- he loses his footing and crashes to the ground, sitting upright with his legs before him and the book in his mouth, gazing curiously, a little panicked, at the two before him.

--

[ mission forewarnings : duke -- ; ]

Well, that went better than expected. No one died this time, and only a ceiling exploded as a result of integrating the new recruits. Duke finishes the last of the tea, the teacup balanced in his hand, before he sets the delicate item down and hums to himself. Perhaps he had overdone it this time, just slightly -- but that was the past, now, and there was no use in holding on to old memories no one could change.

He has learnt that lesson a long time ago, but Twilight's words have, as always, stirred up a mix of familiar emotions within his chest. Despite the work he has completed here, there is still the familiar voice calling out to him -- in the back of his head -- that he must go home, back to a land he abandoned, even if he does not know what home is. It is the same tune that drums his memories of the past, his insistence at staying by Kouca's side, and his feelings towards a particular someone.

He is living so far in the past that it is impossible to gauge the future, not that he wants to. Duke has a certain policy of living life one step at a time, which is why it comes as so much of a surprise to him when Jowan's voice breaks him out of his thoughts.

Duke stares at the other for a split second, before the blond blinks and recollects his thoughts, an easy smile forming on his features. "I haven't decided," he replies truthfully, and, well -- the rest of the X-Dre members had become accustomed to this already, to him latching onto missions at the last second without a word beforehand. He usually dropped hints, true, but Duke knows from past experience that -- it is never good to promise anything, not to some particular part in the future, when so much could happen in between.

"Why?" Duke asks, scanning the other over with an eye. Could Jowan want to accompany them on the mission? Well, the members of X-Dre never refused well-meaning aid, but the other had appeared to them injured and bleeding. To go on a mission immediately afterwards ... Duke wasn't too sure that was the most sensible course of action.

"Well, if you're thinking of going, I better tag along," Duke announces, standing up. His cape moves softly behind him as he takes up his empty teacup, and gestures to the other's cup. "Otherwise, who'll show you around all the cool metal places? Plus, I haven't added a scary metal man to the list of people I've beaten in drinking contests. I could absolutely take one on, I bet. Finished?"

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Following the tea party, Edward sighed and took a look around the dining hall. It was slightly messy- some people really didn’t know how to clean up after themselves. So instead, he decided to go and get a quick snack. Most of the little tea cakes and such were gone by the time he and that girl got here. Learning that you’re not in your home world makes you quite ravenous, and boy was Edward dying for something to eat. He noticed that there was a kitchen not too far away, so he quietly split from his former partner and slipped in.

The two men were the first things he saw as soon as he walked in. Edward took a couple of steps back. One of the men was rather short, whilst the other one was a freaking giant. They were working on some strange machine, it was making weird twitches and sounds, and Edward was a bit freaked out by the ordeal. He had seen chimeras, he had seen his brother in a suit of armor, but this was by far one of the strangest ordeals that he had noticed. The clothes on the men, too, were odd, albeit a little tacky, at least for the taller man. Coming from Ed, though, this thought was bit rich. Making wary glances at them, he searched through the cabinets. He grabbed some random sweets from a rather well-stocked cabinet, and opened the package. Whoever got upset about these sweets would just have to suck it up. Still looking at the motley crew, he slipped back out of the kitchen to go and consume his findings.

~Evonna and Lara~

Of course that random guy split from her. Evonna felt the corners of her nose scrunch in annoyance, but she decided to shrug it off all the same. If this was anything like the Academy, she was just going to suck it up and find some new friends. Oh, she quite missed Lavender. Though her old friend was a bit out there, she was the nicest person she had ever met… Not like Evonna was going to find someone that kind here. Was she? She had no idea. Thus, she decided to resign to her bedroom, or at least to find a room to claim. How would she know if she was going to find an unoccupied room? How could she tell if it was? Did some of these people actually have belongings?

Exploring the main hall, Evonna noticed a rather tall young woman, wearing a tan shirt that exposed her midriff and cargo shorts that barely reached her mid-thigh. Oh God, poor girl, she must get bug bites all the time, she thought to herself. The woman turned around, and Evonna noticed that the woman had a quite stern look on her face. Whatever happened, she didn’t look happy. But she was kinda pretty, despite the lack of a smile. She looked at Evonna, and the sudden realization made her heart drop in disbelief. Holy ! No way. That’s… But those games are so old back in my world, they’ve got to be like… Over a century old? I grew UP on Tomb Raider though, no way! I’ve… Whoa. She’s even hotter in person? Damn, wow. Her shock and awe made her stand in dumbfounded silence. The woman- Lara Croft- raised her eyebrow with a slight tinge of worry.

“Excuse me, are you alright? Is there something I can do for you?”

“Y-You’re Lara Croft…?” Lara nodded with a degree of confusion. This girl is… Rather odd.

“Yes, that is my name. I don’t suppose you’ve seen me somewhere?” Evonna had so many things to say, many of them being sustained velociraptor screeching. Instead, she kept her composure, and oh-so-coherently stated,

“H-hi.” Weirded out, Lara sighed.

“Yes, hello. It’s a pleasure. What may I help you with? Is there something you may be looking for?”

“Yes, that would be second floor. You may choose any room. In fact, I’ll be getting my swimsuit, so I’ll be going that direction anyway. You may choose any of the unoccupied rooms. Now come along, dear, let’s get you settled.” Lara carefully patted Evonna’s back and led her up the stairway towards the second floor.

Edited December 4, 2017 by Mikasa361

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Fiddlesticks listened very carefully to the words. Through the static and confusion, she could only pick out certain keywords, but those coupled with the tone were enough to learn what the message was.
She contemplated it for a bit, comparing it to what she could remember of her motives as well as her perception of self-security. She leaned over the counter and swept her retrieval arms over it upon hearing several distorted clacks, and found a small pile of hard objects. She brushed it closer to her, fell down heavily against the counter, and leaned against it, picking up one bone at a time and bringing them up into her retrieval panel where the grinders were. She had no reason to distrust these people now, especially with how nice they were, so whatever she was trying to hide from them probably wasn't worth the effort. All she could remember of it was that she was melting. Thankfully the grinders still worked even if her threads were flying around and crashing into each other like fighter jets, but it wasn't conducive to making a decision. It also wasn't conducive to detecting someone behind her, which was actually for the better.

"Hmmm..." she hummed, a monotone reflection of the indecision. A few seconds more, and she finally decided to open up her air intake, circulating out the old air with a loud whooshing sound.
Ah, relief! Forget whatever demeanor she was trying to hold; this was much better than possibly-permanent damages. Risky, but worth it.
The machine lay there for a while, scrunched up between the countertops, finishing off the bones while her temperature steadily lowered. Very, very slowly, the threads began to organize themselves back into coherent, uninterrupted thoughts, the processor cooling down. It was quite a big inconvenience, being unable to "breathe" properly, as the other mechs could have their grills shut for hours at a time. Yet she overheats... and Typheus wouldn't tell her why.

Wait... she was thinking clearly!...-er. Ish. What did they ask again? Something about help? Hm... would it be wise to answer?

In contrast to her previous decision, she began having doubts again about trusting anyone. She knew she and Typheus were going to be involved no matter what, but if she gave up dignity in favor of staying low, so they could figure out how to go back to Zirhon themselves and detach from these people, it would prevent unnecessary complications in the war and she couldn't be held hostage in case these people labeled them as enemies; and she knew they would target all Xinschi-uual, rebel or not. On the other hand, that was all boring and safe, and she was still missing the target of her mission, so returning early wouldn't be helpful at all. She had promised to help the rebels, and in return they would help her find her pilot. Which gives her incentive to keep this organization out of it, but they also could be useful allies, and the disappearing machine...Mmmmmmmmmmff...

"I remember now..." she finally said, staring at the tile floor, "and... I can't tell you. Please don't be mad at me." She curled up on herself. "Just... don't ask why, but there are little reptilian people on that planet, that the one-armed man came from. Don't hurt them. Please. We have enough to worry about already.

...Also, where is Duke?" she recalled, "Weren't we going to meet Duke?"

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Stan finished giving his breakdown of events that had occurred and Twilight encouraged everyone, especially the newcomers, to disperse and spend time as they would until things were further sorted out. Standing straighter, Yusei started to make his leave when something happened beside him. Turning his head, he watched as Hush, the odd grey creature that had disappeared to who-knew-where, apparently returned. It hissed once more and, in his head, Yusei heard, "Why is he here?"

Glancing in the direction Hush... was it glaring? His eyes landed on Sora. The boy had not yet noticed the creature's arrival. "He's here like you are, displaced from his world," Yusei answered finally, flicking his eyes back to Hush. "Why do you hate him? Why is Sora a 'traitor', as you mentioned earlier?"

At his name, Sora turned his attention towards Yusei and - "Hey! There are Nobodies here!" Instinct kicked in before he allowed himself to think of the present situation. Instantly, the Keyblade was in his hands and he was crouched, ready to lurch forward as he shifted his wait to his leading foot.

"Hold on a moment," Yusei lifted his hands, duel disk entering the edge of his vision. He hoped there would be no need to use any of his cards. "Hush is not here as an enemy," he started. Glancing around the room, he quickly noted everyone that was still here - including the very anxious being with odd body language. A fight was the last thing that needed to happen. "Sora, tell me about the Nobodies."

The boy flexed his fingers, adjusting his grip only slightly. Still, he stood a little less tensed, the tip of his Keyblade lowering a fraction. "Yen Sid explained that Nobodies don't exist, not truly. They're bodies with no hearts, pretending to have emotions. Lesser Nobodies, like that Dusk behind you, answer to a higher power of Nobodies called the Organization XIII. My friends and I were trying to find King Mickey and figure out what the Organization was attempting to do. Nobodies attack the Light without question and can only return to the Darkness," Sora explained.

Yusei lowered his hands, not giving any other response. Eventually, as Sora stared at the man, the duelist glanced behind at Hush. "I think we better clean up the mess you made before I let you roam the castle on your own again."

Sora huffed but the Keyblade disappeared from his hands and his stance relaxed, hands clasping together behind his head. "You really think we can trust it?"

"Yes. All of us are in the same situation. There's no use in fighting amongst ourselves."

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The Nobody was indeed glaring at Sora. Its seething resentment for him had resurfaced. Were this any other situation, it would almost certainly have attacked and tried to rid the world of his presence once and for all.

But Yusei was here, and promised to help him. That was worth more than spilled blood.

"That boy and his friends took down our leaders, one by one, after leaving us behind. And he's a Keyblade bearer, one of the only things that can kill us. He's a murderer!"

Hush bristled at Sora's explanation about Nobodies, and yelled without thinking.

"I am not a monster! The dark ones are the real monsters."

He moved out from behind Yusei, ready to strike first or evade a blow, until Yusei stopped him with the statement that he wouldn't be allowed to roam the castle until he'd cleaned up his mess.

Right... I did make a big mess.

Much to his surprise, Sora lowered his weapon. Why would a warrior willingly put down his arms in the face of an enemy?

I guess he needs friends too.

After a moment of silence, Hush inquired as to the nature of this cleanup.

"So, where do we start?"

Edited December 6, 2017 by Coryn02

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Watching Sora leave, Yusei glanced at the Dusk once more before starting to leave the dinning hall in turn. The comments about murderers, monsters, and unknown intentions disturbed the duelist but he needed time to figure out what any of it might mean or what it could lead to. Clearly, there were different sides to the situation and, being an outsider, Yusei could not say for certain who was right and who was wrong. But maybe it was all gray.

Do they really not feel emotions? Yusei wondered, watching the Nobody twist and flit about the hallway. He studied the creature, its fluid yet jerky motions carrying it up and down the hallway as he walked forward. "We'll start with the first room I found but then I need you to lead me to any other places you may have messed with." If they didn't feel emotions... Is it just a ruse?

The hatred towards Sora seemed real. But it also looked instinctual.

Light and darkness... Forever at war, even within ourselves. A body and soul without a heart, because the heart was consumed by darkness.

Finding the room that still had ball bearings scattered along the floor and shelves in disarray, Yusei stopped at the doorway. The damage wasn't as bad as he initially thought, having been more focused on trying to catch up to Hush before the Dusk disappeared and slipped away, guilt free. He stooped down to pick up a ballbearing. Something didn't add up perfectly.

"Help me find the container these were in," Yusei requested, holding the ballbearing up for Hush to see.

Circuitraider| Recon

Leaving as soon as it was clear that Stan was finished and Twilight wanted everyone to go on their own ways, Circuitraider excused herself - but it seemed like everyone was going to ignore her further. No one answered any of her questions (though, really, it was only two and they were likely unimportant anyways). Her tires rolled slowly as she traveled down a hallway that few others seemed to take, finding her through the castle. Why were human structures so... cramped? She blamed it on their punitive sizes.

The Autobot didn't bother to track how long she had been moving, studying the layout and tracking data points. But she eventually heard the familiar steps of a bot. Energy surged through her spark, something like anxious excitement. Someone she possibly knew, someone to indicate that she wasn't alone in some far corner of the universe?

Her tires spun faster, trying to maintain traction on the pristine tiles. The bot came into sight, its silver exterior and droid-shaped body foreign to her processors. Her spark sank briefly, hopes of familiarity fluttering away. It wasn't a Cybertronian but, at least, it was definitely mechanical. And it reminded her of the bronze bot she'd seen earlier. "Identify yourself," she requested, the transmission filtering from her circuitry. No response. Perhaps the wrong frequency then. She tried again, switching from one to another as she analyzed the frequencies she knew and those she didn't.

It only took a handful of clicks, or human... seconds, was it? However, she finally sorted out the right frequency to transmit to the silver bot.

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Another day, another successful concert. Things had been going pretty smoothly since the whole Octo Canyon incident (despite Callie going through a little bit of trauma from the whole situation).

"See you tomorrow, Marie! Stay fresh!"

"Stay fresh, Callie." Marie had gone home, to Calamari County, and had gone to sleep that night in her bed...

She woke the next morning to an unfamiliar place and a lot of yelling. Who were all these people?

Wait... People?? These were not Inklings!

Were these...Humans??? Callie would flip out if she heard about this one! There were humans here (and a few not-so-humans). Marie felt a little bit threatened - she hadn't expected humans to be so tall - so she felt around and discovered that she still had her weapons: a Splat Charger, some Splat Bombs, a Killer Wail, and an Inkzooka. If she needed to defend herself, she would, and if she needed to go into Squid Form and flee, all the better.

But for now, all she could do was gather her things and cautiously approach the rest of the group. Hopefully these people were friendly...

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A couple of turns later and he began to recognize the route he had taken from the dining hall. He imagined the halls were actually intuitive, but he wasn't used to the architecture of Earth buildings, nevertheless alien ones structured like them. Learning what each room was and where would help. He at least already knew a few obvious correlations, but the Luma's vague direction could indicate any room it crossed through... The map in his head wasn't finished, but he was pretty sure the building didn't shift its floorplans, and as a result his partner could be in one of three different areas...
He paused when he felt some mental static, hard to describe but with obvious implications. He took a few steps back to see if he passed through a signal, but the static stopped. Still, he began to get excited.I must be getting close! Has she found an intercom or maybe some vents? I haven't seen any in the building but no doubt she figured something out. With that thought, he looked up and scanned the ceiling, yet spotted no wires, cameras, or even a random, industrial element within the gilded place. It was rather fancy, and also appeared rather useless. Maybe it's all hidden. He was about to continue on his way, but was stopped yet again by a fainter, static signal. Again he paused, now wondering how he intercepted the signal again when he had moved away from it. He turned around as if it would give him and answer, and was surprised by a familiar sight: the purple car that had entered the dining room, still without any passengers and yet rolling to a stop in front of him? Who was controlling this car?Possibly another human, he mused, recognizing that most of the people here were humans with bizarre abilities. Maybe this one is the equivalent of a cloaking de- He cut the thought short when more mental static interrupted him, fluctuating like it was being tuned. He felt a sense of urgency and turned away from the car. I can address stalkers later AFTER I find Fiddlesticks.

So much for his priorities; three steps in and the static finally began making sense. Vocal tones! He immediately halted to see if he had stepped in a prime spot and listened.
It was some kind of embedded language... not spoken aloud like the languages of lifeforms, yet best described as a voice in his head. The odd thing about it though was that he didn't recognize the voice. Clearly feminine, but definitely not Fiddlesticks, nor Violet, Stasis, or Pixiedust, or any other female machine he knew, and it definitely wasn't a human using a transmitter, not unless there was a codesmith hanging out in the base trying to mess with him. Which brought him to a tempting question: was it a detached conversation, and should he eavesdrop on it?
No. He was better than-Identify yourself.
He visibly jumped when the voice suddenly rang loud and clear in his head. He immediately turned accusingly to the car, but it hadn't done anything; so he sighed and averted his gaze, locking on to the frequency.
Huh? That was an odd one...Typheus. I'm guessing you missed the meeting, he sent back. He looked around for the entity while remaining in place, yet no one but him and the car were around. A really suspicious, nice-looking, self-driving car, which was actually pretty plausible to him considering what he found out from the scientists. Usually the self-driving cars still had people in them though... Mind if I ask whether you're a veteran or a newcomer?

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The silver bot jumped when she secured the correct transmission frequency. Was it glaring at her? Perhaps the bot didn't enjoy strange Cybertronians accessing its frequency without permission. She wanted to grunt with a mixture of satisfaction and mild annoyance at the bot's indignation but she refrained - mostly because Circuitraider couldn't grunt in her vehicular form.

Typheus. I'm guessing you missed the meeting, came the response.

Yes, I arrived with the cyborg named Stan just after Twilight seemed to finish debriefing the situation, she explained.

Mind if I ask whether you're a veteran or a newcomer?

Newcomer, I suppose. Given the questions you were asking, I assume you are as well. He wasn't looking at her. In fact, he looked like he was trying to find someone or something else in the hallway. She made a proximity scan, finding no one else around as her sensors only pinged against the walls to their sides or reach onward down the hallway. Are you looking for the bronze bot? she questioned. You are not Cybertronian... What are you?

She rolled backwards a few feet, debating whether or not she wanted to transform at this point and stand, hunched over, in the hallway so the bot could see her face. Small as she was for Cybertronian standards, she wondered about the scale of Typheus' world that required him to be smaller than she by several human feet. Or did he have a specific purpose to utilize his small stature?

Debate over, she rolled back a few more feet, allowing space between her and the silver bot before she started transforming. Circuitraider internally sighed about the lack of vertical space but, she had crawled through smaller openings before during missions. She could handle kneeling for a few minutes to make required conversation. Silver metal slid into hiding within the sides of her helmet, revealing the metallic mouth that she possessed. The symbol of the Autobots was molded into the plate across her chest, the bold red a stark contrast to the violet paint.

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A resounding shout of 'what the hell' followed by yelling and a string of apologies alerted Pascal to another pair of newcomers. She pivoted on the tip of her staff to face them -- the one laying in the grass was a weird muscular man with big horns and purple skin and wings the size of him, while the girl who had accidentally fallen on top of him looked relatively normal, with light hair and red bows and who seemed to deactivate her armor and change right into a school uniform.

Cool!

"Hi!" Pascal repeated. Supervising the gateway was a job that never got old -- so long as there wasn't too much waiting involved. "Welcome to the Gateway to the Starry Skies!"

Two other forms within the grasses and flowers began to stir, one pink, one white and green. She waited for a few heartbeats for both the cat creature and the squid creature to gather their bearings, before continuing. "I'm Pascal! You've been transported here because of an inter-dimensional anomaly and so, it's our job to keep you safe for a bit until we find your worlds! We also go around fixing other people's universes from falling apart, so you're welcome to join us if you want."

At the sight of the ground rippling and forming clay-like humanoids, Pascal shifted her weight from her staff to her feet. The weapon felt light in her hands from familiarity; it would make quick work of any monsters even without her using her magic. Having seen similar magical enemies before, it didn't hurt to be a little cautious of the mud constructs she saw, even if she caught vague mutterings of english between them. Something about the universe magic seemed to allow people to communicate regardless of their language. It might be possible to negotiate with the monsters, now, instead of beating them up. "Hi dirt people!" She waved.

Edited December 9, 2017 by TehUltimateMage

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One of the people seemed friendly enough, having introduced herself as Pascal. Illidan visibly relaxed his stance as his Spectral Sight came into focus and revealed the grassy environment around him, as well as a little more detail on the auras of the people around him; he still held his Warglaives, though. Marie put away all her weapons, seeing no need for them as these people were friendly. Hibiki - being her usual, super-friendly self - ran up to Pascal and took one of her hands in her own, and was the first to speak. "Hi, Pascal-san! I'm Tachibana Hibiki! It's nice to meet you!"

Marie was next, speaking with a slight warble in her voice, as if underwater. "My name's Marie. THAT Marie. Y'know... of the Squid Sisters."

Illidan raised an eyebrow. One of these girls had introduced her name backwards and the other... well... was a squid. "...the... what now? What on Azeroth are you talking about?"

"For eel?! You don't know me or the Squid Sisters at all?! And... what's an Azeroth?"

"In case you didn't hear, ink-cheeks, we're in and from different worlds," Illidan snapped. Yikes, someone had woken up on the wrong side of the Gateway. "As for my name, call me Illidan."

Hibiki let go of Pascal's hand, ran back to Illidan, and took one of his hands in hers, startling him. "I think it's exciting, meeting so many different people! And from different worlds, too!"

What is this girl's problem?! Illidan yanked his hand away, clearly not amused by having his hand held by a seventeen-year-old human girl. "Do you do that with everyone you meet?!"

"Well... yeah! Everyone's friendlier if you just hold hands with them!" Hibiki then took Marie's hand - apparently she had made an art out of holding hands with strangers in an attempt to be friendly. Unlike Illidan, Marie's reaction was much calmer, although still a little startled. "See? So much friendlier!"

Illidan grunted and crossed his arms. Hibiki was nothing if not persistent, he had to admit, but part of him wondered if she'd been hit in the head as a kid. But then what Pascal had said hit him. "...did you say... interdimensional anomaly?! Oh, sweet Elune... I need to find a way back to Argus before the war against the Burning Legion takes a turn for the worse!"

Hibiki looked at Illidan, letting go of Marie's hand. "...now that you mention it, Illidan-san, everyone in S.O.N.G. probably needs me back home, too. Especially the other girls. Miku-chan's going to worry about me so much! I hope she'll be okay..."

Marie looked down slightly, worried about her cousin. "Oh holy Zapfish, Callie's going to be worried sick about me! I know she can handle all the fans without me, but..."

"We also go around fixing other people's universes from falling apart, so you're welcome to join us if you want."

Illidan sighed. "I may as well. I have nothing better to do since I'm pretty much stuck here. That and staying safe is not an option to me. I'm not a Demon Hunter for no reason; I live for danger. Maybe, just maybe, while saving the multiverse and everything, I'll find a way back to Argus where I'm needed." He sure stuck the emphasis on the last three words - it seemed Illidan was far from friendly.

Marie looked around, then looked at Pascal. "I'm not sure how much help I'll be, just shooting ink all over the place... but I'll help in any way I can. I've helped save my home of Inkopolis twice before. What's to stop me from helping to save entire universes?"

Hibiki was practically beaming with energy and was holding a red pendant. "Count me in, too! If Illidan-san thinks it'll help him get back to his world, maybe it can help me get back to mine! And I want to help people, too, like Marie-san! And I'll use my Gungnir to do just that, because I've used it to save my world like four times now!"

It appeared these three were in agreement on helping to keep other universes from falling apart, but for different reasons. Illidan just wanted to go back to where he felt he was needed, which, at this time, seemed to be a world he called Argus. Marie felt like, since she had helped defend her own world, she could help defend others, too. Hibiki just wanted to help as many people as possible, just as she had done in her world.

Then Marie jumped at the mention of mud. Mud meant water, and water to an Inkling like her meant certain death. She quickly stepped away from the strange mud constructs, as did Hibiki, who didn't want to get her clothes dirty.

But Illidan just looked at the strange mud people with a smirk. Some kind of magic was definitely involved here. He could hear them speak in broken Common - perhaps there was some level of intelligence in them, as well. He was also the first to notice the strange pink cat trying to lay low. There was something... odd about its aura. "You know I can see you, right?"

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Hush nodded, then walked across the room to where he knew the boxes were kept. He brought them over to Yusei, and then started working on the books, rapidly putting them all on the shelves again with his stretchy arms.

It occurred to the Nobody at this time that the boxes were marked with labels, and it stopped what it was doing, zoomed over to look at them again, then glanced at the ball bearings scattered all over the room before questioning Yusei again.

"Might take a bit. Sorting."

Mud People, Earth and Water

As they began to walk away, the Mud People were called back by a perky young woman with a staff.

The key word here was 'dirt'. While this was only partly true of their nature, the cycle of life did require a source of dirt to continue, they all turned back.

One of them aimed to strike up a conversation, as much as you could with such limited speaking ability.

"Hi. We need mudpit."

Another one moved over to Illidan, finding him strange but intriguing, and tried to poke one of his wings with an expression of awe on its limited facial features.

"Ooh."

The final mud person was peering off into the distance, using its eyes as primitive binoculars, trying to find a mudpit or some resources in the event that they needed fixing. Finding nothing, it called back to the others.

"No mudpit. What we do?"

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So the entity came with Stan and Xker? Who else was there? The car, but... Typheus turned and gave it a look of suspicion. Someone has to be in there, yet cars don't output signals, they receive them.Pretty much, he answered; there was no reason to deny he was new here. He looked around him again, though more out of habit so he was aware of his surroundings. He debated asking the entity to give him her location, but as polite as everyone has been so far chances are there was a reason this person was hiding; the fact that it might be an AI and lacked a proper body in the first place, for one, or as another thought, it could be a photosensitive or immobile creature.Are you looking for the bronze bot? the entity suddenly asked. He looked up in surprise.What do you know about her? he demanded, before he realized how harsh he sounded. Rather than retract it though, he waited tentatively for a response, deciding that the entity must be near him, as there were no cameras around...You are not Cybertornian... What are you?
'Cybertronian'? his thoughts echoed. He looked at the floor, unsure on how to respond. What's a Cybertronian?I could ask the same about you, he replied. As if on cue, the car next to him began to roll backward, and he looked up to keep an eye on it. That didn't make sense... if it was rolling backward the floor had to be sloped, but it couldn't have remained still before if it was.

The signal went quiet. Suspicions rising, he tried tracking its source, still watching the vehicle as it defied physics again and halted, now seven quli away from him.
He watched it carefully. Up to 90% progress on the tracking...
Then the car began to move in a way cars didn't move!
Typheus jumped into the offense position, bayonets unsheathing and wings flared, ready to charge or bolt if needed; yet he was frozen in place as the metal pulled apart, shifted, twisted and flipped with bizarre, mechanical complexity. Luxury seating and controls drifted from their place, wheels pulled back and sheathed in, and doors folded across an entirely new form with arms and legs. There were so many parts it was hard to track them all! It sounded pretty cool too; and once it was all done, he was surprised to see a remarkably human form.
The car... turned into a person... He didn't need the blinking icon that showed up five seconds ago to tell him where the signal came from now.

He was still frozen from awe. She was definitely bigger than him, and it showed by how cramped she was in this small hallway. A red symbol streaked across her chest was now visible, yet it gave him no clear indication of her origin, and her eyes were blue and looked very alive. He couldn't tell if she was a lifeform, or a machine, or something disguised as either, but he definitely felt threatened by how big she was; not that she was bigger than a 17 Tank, but he was used to big machines looking like him, not people! So, for a long moment, he had nothing to say, except for "Um..."
He tried to think up a civilized response. He remembered that she said he wasn't Cybertronian, so was this what a Cybertronian looked like? Impressive... also kind of scary... "Uh, mech." He finally gestured to himself in introduction. "Built by Xinschi-uual. They're... very small. I'm a Superiority model, but that doesn't mean anything to you..." He faltered with his composure, feeling overwhelmed. "Yeah, I'm looking for the bronze machine. All I know is that she's over here somewhere."

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The cogs in her brain turned and she lowered her staff. These monsters weren't hostile. They were looking for a mudpit. Their composition suggested that they too were beings of mud, and perhaps mud was to be used to keep them alive just like frogs who needed to be kept damp with water. They didn't seem to be too eloquent event when they formed sentences, and Pascal remembered that she might have something up in her room to help these constructs out...

For now though, she took a few steps away from the central portion of the gateway, to a patch where there were no flowers, and planted her staff straight into the ground. "One mudpit, coming right up!"

Magic welled around her in a blue circle, rising from the earth and lifting her scarf with steady power. Focusing her energy, Pascal called the name of her summon.

"Cyandine!"

Water in the form of a fish-tailed woman gushed from the earth as smoothly as a salmon leaping through a river. As quickly as she came, she dove back into the ground and disappeared, leaving a stream in her wake.

Pascal stomped around the large puddle she made, furiously mashing the ground into mud. She was certain that this plan would work!

Twilight -- Dining Hall

Twilight's horn glowed as she steadied Reshiram's chair to stop them from falling backwards. The humanoid was pretty untalkative, or maybe couldn't speak at all. Nevertheless, it was good to keep talking whether or not they could understand what she was saying. Perhaps their origin would enlighten her with how she could help.

"Hm..." She began to think out loud. "Xander picked you up in a world called Ylisse since it didn't seem like you belonged there, but he has told me about Manaketes and speculated that you might be one based on that stone you have. And," she closed her eyes and re-visualized the incident where the strange transforming human blew a hole in the ceiling, "It seems like your powers are almost instinctual and limited in duration. Can you turn into a dragon at will, or is it only when you're scared?"

Edited December 10, 2017 by TehUltimateMage

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Typheus' faltering did not escape Circuitraider's notice. However, she never encountered someone smaller than her, let alone who was visibly intimidated by the scout (excepting the humans) that she did not know how to ease the... mech's, possible concerns. "I hail from the planet Cybertron, an Autobot scout under the leadership of Optimus Prime. I suppose... You don't know what any of that is..." She trailed off. Bumblebee was often better at these kinds of interactions than she was. At least, in more recent decades.

The fact that Typheus was a strange Mech made the situation a little easier for Circuitraider. She wouldn't know what to do with a human without Optimus or Bumblebee nearby to assist. "I realize I startled you a moment ago, I apologize for doing so. Regarding your friend... I think I last saw her beginning to struggle with something? I'm not sure about your functions and it was while the human and his pet were first in the front hall."

The wings that decorated the sides of her helmet shifted as she began to orient her audio receptors. Within nanoseconds, she picked out the voices and sounds that drifted across the first floor of the castle that was within her range. She didn't know how big the place truly was and still needed to finish mapping the layout for her reference. "Your companion is stationary, speaking with others," Circuitraider informed, receptors retreating from view as she brought her blue optics back to Typheus. "She wants to know the location of 'Duke'?"

Yusei | Cleaning

Standing, Yusei looked over at the boxes as Hush spoke up about needing some time. "That's fine," he reassured. Looking at the ball bearing in his hand once more, he continued to frown. Much of the items that he could see appeared to belong to Stan and, in the disassembly of the room, some looked as if they were broken by mistake. He began to gather was might have been broken, along with the obvious items that needed repairs.

Sweeping all of the ball bearings together was only faintly tedious but, once they were collected and out of the way, moving around the room was far less treacherous. The duelist found an empty container that he could keep the damaged items in, making future transport far easier than if he would have tried simply using his arms and hands.

Soon enough, the room was back in its original state of order and the man motioned for Hush to come with him. "Since I want to get your request put up before too much time has passed, I plan on taking care of it first. Then I want you to show me any other areas that you may have... played around in. I need to bring these items to Stan, can you promise me that you'll help clean the rest of the mess you made?" he asked, tucking the box under his right arm as he stepped into the hallway.

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The man's face is etched in her mind, cold red eyes watching the person before her crumple. Around her, the sound of drums, of voices rising -- she has to finish this quickly and leave.

How troublesome, she thinks, and there is truth in the statement -- she is in the middle of one of those periods again, all alone, and she misses the comfort of having someone nearby to whom she could express her thoughts.

In any case, that didn't matter. What mattered was finishing her mission. Ayaka raises a hand, her nails long and black, and watches as the start of a small flame ignites in her palm.

"Bye, now," she says, light and singsong, and raises her hand --

The world before her vision turns and turns, and Ayaka extinguishes her flame just as the world disappears in a final poof. There is a moment of silence, of nothing, and then -- she stands at the edge of a field, bordered with green grass and white flowers, and Ayaka looks around, bewildered, as she sees large stones rising into the sky before her vision.

This isn't her country, her mind registers. This isn't home.

But then again, what was? Ayaka has spent enough time travelling to find comfort in any known place, and enough time in battle to not fear anything. She accepts the change with a determined glare, even as her mind is confused.

There seem to be people around her, in various states of interacting, and she wonders if she has somehow intruded on an occasion. Looking around, these aren't -- these aren't humans, and she pauses.

Yokai?

Her kind?

Surely not. Could this be a mission? Had she been sent here to attack?

Well, she mustn't jump to conclusions. Entirely curious about this new development, Ayaka tilts her head. The grass felt strange and all too soft underneath her high shoes, and a steady wind blows through her hair. "Hello," she says curiously, and raises a hand. "Can anyone tell me where I am?"

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Illidan gasped loudly upon feeling something cold and wet on his wings - not good! Before he could even think, his wings had outstretched and hit whatever had touched them. HARD. "Don't do that! Those are sensitive...!" Folding them back up, he was made alert to two more beings that had arrived.

One of them was a demon.

CRAP. As if on instinct, almost like a jungle predator, Illidan crouched down, Warglaives of Azzinoth in his hands, ready to leap and pounce upon his prey, as he'd done so many times before to the demons on Argus...

...but Hibiki leaped into action, grabbing Illidan and stopping him from moving to kill the pink-haired woman. She was... surprisingly strong, given her build. "Illidan-san, no! We don't know if she's bad or not!!"

"I, uh... don't think her friend would take too kindly to you attacking her, Illidan." Marie pointed to the guy with her, what with his rather impressive wingspan and all... a guy like that was pretty hard to miss.

"...even so, we cannot give her that chance, ink-cheeks. She might attack us--"

"It doesn't mean she will. Please, Illidan-san, just give her a chance to at least speak! You can at least allow that?"

Illidan groaned. "FINE. But if she makes ONE MOVE to attack us, I'm skewering her alive. Are we clear?"

"Crystal." Hibiki then let Illidan go, and he relaxed his stance. He was still a little wary, though - his experiences with demons had almost all been bad...

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Ayaka immediately tenses when one of the people in the group she had asked crouches down, his eyes a strange, unnatural green, and his skin deep purple. His teeth are bared in an unnatural, threatening manner, and Ayaka immediately feels a chill run down her spine when he turns his full attention to her and speaks. The sunlight catches the reflection of his horns, and glints as sharply as his accusations.

A demon? Ayaka bristles at the inclination -- she doesn't refute her identity, but the hateful, spiteful way by which he speaks echoes in her mind. So this was a threatening land, after all. The other is curious, with large black horns on his head and wings -- wings large enough to eclipse the sun, cruelly limbed with delicate membrane stretched over sharp shapes.

She opens her mouth to reply just as sparks are jumping on her fingertips, but before she can speak suddenly there is an all-too-familiar voice in her ear, and her vision is eclipsed by --

White?

There is a familiar face pressed against hers, too close -- it reminds her of a past, when she had been more open, more passionate, yet all too violate. Familiar blue eyes, crystalline, gaze into hers, before Yuki blinks away and continues to lament his current situation.

Her mind spins. What was he doing here? She had left him behind all those years ago -- and, quite frankly, she'd expected him to have found his way back up to heaven by now.

"Yuki? When -- what?" she says, at the same time she presses her hands against the fallen angel's chest -- warm, real, and alive, and entirely strange -- and pushes him away from her. "I did no such thing," she says, ignoring his other questions -- until she gets answers herself, she is determined to stay quiet. "Be careful," she says, finally. "I don't know where we are, but they don't seem friendly."

Answers.

With that in mind, she turns furious eyes -- red, glowing, and blazing hellfire -- onto the gathered group around the purple-skinned ... man? Demon? She cannot tell for sure, and it is that disparity that makes her wary.

"What's your problem?" she says, calling clearly across the field, even as she stands by Yuki's side. She takes a step forward, and hates how her heel sinks into the soft grass. Hissing, she speaks once more. "You can be sure I'm going to attack you, with how you're talking about me and everything." She glares. "Not to mention you look pretty much like a demon yourself, Mr. Purple." She folds her arms, a smug smile making its way onto her face. Entirely too confident, trusting in her immorality, never having given a thought to the idea of death. "So try me," she drawls. "I'll burn you to a crisp before you can even begin to 'skewer' me."

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The mud person who tried to touch Illidan's wing was knocked over. After a moment, it picked itself up off the ground, and stood around blankly while the argument between demons ensued in its vicinity.

The other two were gathered around Pascal while she tried to make them a mudpit.

"Deeper." One of them commented, noting that the current state of affairs would not be able to support a community. The other briefly tested the muddy water with its fingers, as if to assess its progression.

Edited December 10, 2017 by Coryn02

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Light eyed the pile of books she had in her arms already, looked back up at the one that just caught her eye, then set the stack down, feeling a sense of release in her arms as she did so. She stretched, sighing at her lack of physical strength, and pulled the book down before calling out. "Louise!"

A levitating woman with long black hair, wearing a variety of purple furs and tribal skirts, holding a staff with a curved, hornlike tip appeared in front of her, poised and ready for battle. That is, until she had a glance around. Then Louise relaxed, slinging the staff on her back. "Another one?" she asked, glancing around at her surroundings. "And where is this one? Honestly, Light, sometimes I wonder if you're a sniffer dog for libraries."

"Hey! But I have no idea," Light admitted. "I think I fell into an interdimensional gate somewhere near Central Park."

"See?" Louise spread her hands and grinned. "Sniffer dog for libraries." Her expression promptly turned more serious, though, and she crossed her arms, looking concerned. "I haven't heard of one opening so close to Central Park, though. Do you know where exactly--

”No!"

Light and Louise both turned towards the sound, Light with ears prickled and alert, Louise with her staff back in tensed hands and spell on her lips.

”No, no, absolutely not! Please do not damage the books!”

As she saw the commotion, though, Light raised a hand towards Louise, though she still had a confused expression on her face. It was the wolf-boy from earlier—what did he say his name was? Fu-something?—stumbling back, a book in his mouth. Did he follow us? Light cocked her head and approached, glancing back once to see Louise following, though she had the stack of books Light picked out in her arms now. Wolf-boy looked between the two of them with a slightly panicked gaze.

”Give it to me, please!” Spike reached out to take the book in wolf-boy’s mouth. Does he not know what a book is? He’s almost like a wild animal… But he seems to be smarter than that. I wonder…. Light grabbed a random book from the shelves and kneeled beside wolf-boy.

"Books aren’t for eating,” she lightly chastised, then opened the book she had just pulled to a random page, pointing to the words. ”Look! … thus, the dragon of time is ever locked in conflict with the dragon of space. This draws the ire of the dragon of antimatter, who would then enter battle with the intent to punish both,”Light read.

Cistina ~ Gateway

Cistina shook her head slightly—So many new arrivals from this one—before turning to inspect all of—OGRE?! As her eyes settled, Cistina stared at the demonic purple beast, feeling the blood drain from her face. Denizens of the netherworld, foe to the world…. She remembered the monsters they had fought, the…. The evil doppelgangers that had been summoned to the fallen king’s aid—Folcurt, Olivya, Denam, Arycelle, herself, and everyone else; except made from swirling shadows, the colors on them dulled, the only expressions on their face either sheer anger or sadistic joy. Cistina moved herself back slightly, as she shivered, remembering the brutal fight. King—No, the ogre, had welded corrupted elemental powers and possessed incredible strength… And now one of them was here? He had his weapons out, ready to fight.

”P-Pascal, be careful, there…There is….” Cistina trailed off as someone covered in mud poked him and he unveiled large wings, snapping annoyedly at the mud-covered man. There was something strange with that action. Cistina frowned and watched as he noted the arrival of the other two—he recoiled at seeing one of them. He got into a combat—Cistina flew forward, getting between him and the arrivals. But some of the ones closer to him were trying to dissuade him too? Of course, he wasn’t listening to them.

”Black Willaw!”Cistina ordered, aiming the spell to bind his feet to the ground... But something in the way they were talking made Cistina pause a bit. Not to mention how he wasn’t attacking outright, but… All the ogres had a purpose… I could be misjudging. One of the two arrivals responded to his taunts, and Cistina turned around. Was she… Trying to fight? If she thinks herself able to… I cannot possibly… But there are others here… My primary duty here is to keep peace, and he is not attacking yet... Cistina held her spear defensively, sparing a glance at the woman behind her.”Please do not antagonize him,” Cistina warned.

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Finally, someone with sense enough to warn against antagonizing Illidan. Not that it mattered - he was already very much riled up and ready to fight, and was about to drive the Warglaives of Azzinoth into the demon girl's chest.

Except now there was that other guy that Marie had pointed out, and he was... far less serious than she'd made him out to be. In fact, if anything, Illidan was finding him quite annoying. So much was being said so quickly... "Wha... brother?! Hell no! I'm not related to this... this WITCH!"

"...oh hey you have a wrap on your face, that a fashion thing?" He wasn't wrong, but still... Illidan was pissed enough.

He tossed the Warglaives at Hibiki, who struggled to catch them. "Hold those for me. I need to get a brat out of my face." He then curled his arm back and smacked the poor child in front of him - and although they weren't quite claws, his fingernails were still pretty sharp, and thus raked across Yuki's face. "Now... stay out of my way!"

He reclaimed the Warglaives from Hibiki and entered a combat stance, ready to strike the demon girl at any given moment.

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He wasn’t sure why, but he felt disappointed that Duke hadn’t decided whether or not he was going or not. For all he knew, Duke wasn’t even as helpful Jowan thought. “I was just curious, and, well…” It would have been better to just outright say that he was interested in going, but he hesitated. Was it not presumptuous to assume that anyone even wanted him to come? Especially Duke; he had to be tired of babysitting by now.

“Oh!” Hurriedly, he gulped down the last of his tea before coughing. “Hot.” Duke agreeing to go just because he wanted to had been unexpected. “Yes, I’m finished,” he said, gathering his teacup and following Duke out of the room. “Thank you.”

Everyone had been so accommodating and kind to him (well, not everyone; most people in his life hadn’t, actually). It was more than he deserved, and it strengthened the feeling of needing to explain his powers. All of them, not just the weak flames and ice that he could conjure without bloodshed. Maybe things would have gone better with Neria if he had told her.

It was just that he didn’t know where to start. None of the members of XDRE seemed fazed by any of the powers that the new recruits displayed, but blood magic… ‘Hey, Duke, you know this cut on my arm that’s been causing problems? I did that on purpose so that I could boil everyone’s blood if the situation at the Gateway went bad.' Yeah, that’d go over well. It seemed like a different situation from turning into a strange furry monster or having dead people in one's head.

Edited December 11, 2017 by Zor

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His room was filled with the things he liked to have, even if his collection was much more sparse than he would have liked it to be. That was alright. He had to leave a lot of his personal items behind -- again -- though his favorite things tended to never leave his person. It was a gamble, though, because sometimes a stray bullet could just happen to pierce his bag, and his carrying capacity was limited and weapons had higher priority than sentimental objects.

His desk, used as a working surface, was clean and his toolbag tucked under it, though everything in his drawers -- collected tickets, notes, coins, a pack of cigarettes that he hadn't looked at in a while -- was unorganized. The supplied chest of drawers, containing categorized clothing, had junk lying on its top surface such as spare batteries, whiskey, an old portable gaming device, and a few choice books that looked like hey had been flipped through many times. A small radio sat on his nightstand, quietly playing a positively ancient rendition of Hey Jude. It reminded him that he had a Beatles poster once. The only poster he had on the wall now was folded many times over and had lost much of its color, even though it was terrible unlikely that it was an original. The castle's room just had so much more wall space than he was usually used to, and so he didn't know what to do with all of it other than dream about painting the baby blue walls a shade of neutral grey instead.

A knock on his door. He just wanted to lay down for a bit, still in his ash-stained clothing. Just to get a moment of rest without actually sleeping. He didn't have time for that. A couple minutes on his bed would just have to do, and for a moment, he pretended that the act was the equivalent to taking a nap. It felt like this day just continued to drag on -- and perhaps it was because the days were bleeding into each other because of the eternal dawn. Rallying people for the mission was rather sudden, he knew, but he also knew he wanted to see more of that mysterious world of ash and mist.

Stan didn't want whoever was at his door to wait too long, so he slowly rolled off one side and slipped right into his boots. He took a moment to adjust them before making his way over.

On the other side was a familiar face he tended to see a lot in the garage. It was the more rational of the two people with face tattoos he knew on this planet. Stan also couldn't figure out how his hair worked.

"Oh, Yusei," he greeted, but with a fraction of his usual energy. He was just a little deflated now that he was caught in a moment of reprieve. "Did you need me for something? Or for more information about my mission?"

Behind Yusei was the grey and blue humanoid creature he saw at Twilight's tea party. It seemed to be rather attached to the duelist. "Oh, made a new friend? I saw that there were many newcomers at the table today." He rubbed the back of his neck out of habit and his lips pulled into a small smile. "I wonder if they're still popping out at the Gateway?"

Edited December 11, 2017 by TehUltimateMage

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The brown-haired woman that appears between them seems to be of calm disposition, but Ayaka is not one to listen to rules -- nor to bend to authority. Even as the woman steps between the two demons, glaring death at each other, Ayaka watches as the woman raises a spear in the air, and smirks to herself. A spear is a foolish defense against her flames, and she has no qualms about setting the field on fire if the purple-skinned demon continues to agitate her.

"I'm not the one you have to worry about," she says, meeting Cistina's gaze straight on. "If anything, I'm --"

Her words are cut short by a flash of Yuki's wings from the corners of her vision, and Aya watches, absolutely stunned, as the fallen angel approaches the dark-skinned demon and chatters on. Even from this distance, his words are rapid fire and enthusiastic, and the speed by which he talks makes Ayaka sigh and close her eyes, resisting the urge to stop the other.

Siblings? His words instantly get her attention, and she snaps open her vision to return with a clear insistence that they are, most definitely, not related -- in fact, she's pretty sure she has no family, as far as that word is concerned -- but it seems the other demon is already answering for her, with how he raises his hand and slashes Yuki across the face.

Ayaka feels a spike of annoyance -- it is not if she doesn't know Yuki can't handle an attack like that, but much rather the fact that the other demon had reacted so violently. His actions, and his words, remind her of how she had been in her youth, wanting to challenge everyone and everything, and there is a certain feeling in her chest at the idea of standing here as she watches others try to defuse the situation. It is both a pressure, a tightening of her throat, and an annoyance at the idea that others had to step in for her. She has never required help. and decades of travelling alone have taught her not to rely on the kindness of strangers.

"Move," she says to Yuki, and shoves her way past the other -- up close, there is a certain coldness radiating from the angel, an inhuman, white glow to his skin that immediately mends the mark the demon had made on his face, and it reminds her so much of centuries ago that she has to hesitate and push the thoughts from her mind. "You'd think after centuries of that, you'd stop approaching people who hit you," she murmurs, quiet enough so that only he can hear.

But that is not what she is here for. Immediately on task once more, Ayaka raises a hand -- her nails spark with embers as she raises her fingers, and a small flame ignites with her touch.

"If you're looking for a fight," she says, and opens her palm so that the fire is clearly visible -- dark and brilliant and all-consuming, "then I suggest you focus on me instead of attacking other people."

With that, she thrusts her hand forward, and her fire reacts as such -- the flame expands along with the movement of her arm, and Ayaka feels her face break out in a wide smirk as she slams the fire forward, a comet of angry black and red heading straight for the purple-skinned demon, igniting the grass along the way.

--

[ who -- ? : fushi -- ; ]

Fushi is becoming increasingly agitated at the way the little dragon speaks to him, as he swings the book in his mouth around in rhythm with the movements of the dragon's little feet. Spike looks as if he is greatly distressed by the sight of the pages hanging from Fushi's mouth, and the immortal does not know how to react in this scenario.

There is still much he has to learn, and he grows increasingly panicked with each new encounter. No, no -- this isn't what he wanted, this isn't how he wanted to make friends, and a part of him fears that the people here will simply drive him away.

He does not wish to be alone once more, with only the plains and the wind to keep him company, and he does not know how to avoid that fate. However, before he can think too seriously on the matter --

Someone kneels down next to him, and the white-haired boy turns surprised eyes on the red-haired girl with a delicate flower fixed in her hair. She holds one of the aforementioned books in her hand, and though her voice is soft there is a certain teacher quality to it, and Fushi finds himself listening intently.

She opens the book in her hands, and reveals mysterious pages lined with black lettering, all unfamiliar figures to Fushi's untrained mind. His eyes follow her finger as she points to a letter imprinted on the white sheets, and Fushi's eyes flick up to her face as she begins to speak, her attention focused on the page. Is she ... is she speaking? From the book?

He strains his ears to hear, because he oh-so-desperately wants to figure out what she is saying, and though her voice is lyrical, musical to his ears, he cannot understand her words. He raises his hands and takes the book from his mouth, the pages somewhat wet, and sets it in his lap.

"D .... dragon," he repeats, hearing a word she had said very frequently. Hesitantly, he raises a hand -- perhaps only she can touch the book? He stares at her curiously, giving her plenty of time to stop him, as he gently taps the page, and the word she had been focusing on. S-P-A-C-E. "Dragon?"

Then, he raises the book he had been holding in his mouth only moments prior. "Dragon?"

--

[ operation blanket burrito : duke -- ; ]

Duke laughs as Jowan hurriedly finishes his drink, and the blond looks at the other before him, curious. "No need to thank me," he says, "I didn't even make the tea or anything. If anything, I'm just as much of a freeloader as the rest of him." At this, he smiles to himself, and leads the way down the hallway. As he walks, the blond commander thinks to himself.

He sneaks a glance at Jowan as they walk, even if the silence that settles between them is bearable -- there is a way by which the other's brow is furrowed that makes him inherently curious, and Jowan's eyes speak as if he is bearing the world's weight on his shoulders, alone. There is a certain painful, familiar way by which he thinks, and Duke wonders -- how much does it take to forgive oneself of their mistakes? He has lived his life for too long refusing to acknowledge the past.

"Let's get you cleaned up, for real," Duke says instead. "With a shower and clothes and all that jazz." Duke glances over, and turns a corner to go up some stairs. "We still have some time before the mission starts, anyways. The new recruits haven't been assigned rooms yet, so would you mind using mine?"

Without waiting for an answer, Duke leads Jowan into one of the rooms on the left side, very back. As he walks, he talks, introducing each of the member's respective rooms to the other. "You'll get your own, eventually -- we're a little overcrowded with all the new recruits recently, but I'm sure Stan has plans to expand. By blowing up half the base, or something. In any case, here's me!"

He opens the door, revealing a room -- simplistic in nature, with minimal decorations. The bedsheets are a mess, and Duke laughs somewhat nervously -- he was never one to make his bed. In fact, after a childhood spent travelling and sleeping on various strange things, even sleeping on a bed remains strange to him. A desk sits adjacent to the bed, and on it are various trinkets from important people in his life -- Ace's Guard Commander badge, a fragment of Elias' armour, and Caspian's royal emblem. All pieces of people that once mattered more than life itself to him. He stares at the desk for just a second, before snapping back to the present.

"The bathroom is just through that door," he says, distracting himself by picking up a fallen pillow from the mess of his bed, and tosses the thing onto the pile. "I'll see if we have any spare clothes you can borrow, and some medical thread." He pauses, and tilts his head. "Or would you prefer going to find one of the healers? I'm sure they can do a better job than anything I can manage." He makes his way over to the door. "I won't intrude on your privacy," he states, smiling. "I'll be back in 10 minutes or so. Try not to burn down the room, please?"